Geeky Holiday DIY

As some of you may have noticed, we are currently knee deep in the holiday season. It has opened its gaping maws at our feet, salivating glitter and good cheer, pulling us down into the pit of presents and too many sweets. Personally, I am an absolute ball of giddy holiday cheer when it comes to gift giving – my friends and family are exceptionally spoiled by me at this time of the year. However, this year I have not only procrastinated on preparing my Santa stash, but I am a little strapped for cash. Considering the majority of the people I associate with are uber geeks, it got me thinking: what are some cash-saving nerdy craft projects to partake in, for gift giving and decorating around the house?

So, per usual, I made the internet my personal slave with a snap of my Google whip, and pursued this line of questioning to the very ends of the HTML landscape. As I ventured forth on this daunting journey, I encountered many clever and lovely craft ideas in the vein of geekiness. I compiled them all in my brain box, eager to see some of them realized. But then I sat back and thought: perhaps the rest of the world doesn't have the excess of free time that I do. PERHAPS I should share this wealth of findings with the rest of the world.

I mulled this over for some time, and decided I would give up the holy grail of geeky holiday crafts from the goodness of my heart. Below is the most sacred listing of AWESOMENESS one will ever encounter. You have been warned.

Gift Ideas

Cuddly Things

I have a tendency to make my bed into a landmine of adorable plushies. It makes me feel like I am surrounded by love at all times, when in reality it's leftover childhood obsessions and an absolute male repellent. At times I lose my little dog amongst the piles of stuffing filled cute things, but then one of them moves.

If you know any geeky folks, it's a good chance that at least ONE of them would love to receive a hand sewn plushie all wrapped up in a bow for Christmas. Here are some choice selections for simple tutorials on how to make cute nerdy plushies!

As a disclaimer and a re-assurance: I cannot sew that well at all, but I've managed to make plushies before… with a lot of finger pricking. The end result is certainly worth it, and the love you put into making these little buggers will always show. And if you're a bit more crafty, you have nearly endless possibilities as far as plushes go! Just make a template on paper, cut out some felt, and you can construct nearly anything your heart desires!

"Cute" just screams geeky, and putting faces on food makes EVERYTHING cute. The Japanese patented this technique long ago, and this tutorial draws from that. Make an adorable plushie piece of toast to give to a bread lover this holiday season!

"Chibi" is a Japanese word that basically means "small child", but it has come to refer to cute, super deformed characters. This tutorial teaches you how to make a basic chibi template – the body and head. From that point, there are endless possibilities! Make a tiny Captain America or a Thor! Gift your friends with hand sewn Batman villains!

I know we all have bunches of these discs laying around. I recently discovered my hoard and found I had no way of seeing what was on them as my computer didn't even have a floppy drive anymore! (Never to fear, I still managed to retrieve the fanfiction I wrote when I was thirteen). This tutorial cleverly instructs you on how to make a fully functional totebag out of those old floppy discs. Geeky AND Fashionable!

Screen Printing is the process that is used to permanently put images on fabric. Usually it is achieved with a giant printing press, which sounds daunting, but it is actually incredibly simple to do your own screen pritning as long as you are only using one or two colours. I have used this method many times with fantastic results: my bags in college were always the talk of the class because they were covered with some nerdy logo.

Use this technique to make pillow cases, t-shirts, dresses, messenger bags…

Geeky Decorations

Sculpey is perhaps one of the most incredible things ever invented. It is easily moldable clay that has absorbed every spectrum of the rainbow, and with it beautiful things come to life. The options one has with Sculpey go to the ends of the known universe and back about three billion times. In years past, I have crafted geeky tree ornaments from sculpey to hang all around my apartment. Comic book logos, Katamari balls, Mario stars, Hello Kitty… my brain is constantly coming up with new things to create. And the process is insanely simple: so simple, in fact, that I am not even going to post a link to a tutorial.

Why? Because all you need are some hooks (which size or for what purpose is entirely up to you) that can be acquired at the craft store, and a whole lot of sculpey. Think up something you'd like to see on your tree (or hanging from earrings, or a necklace, etc etc) and MAKE IT.

So you have all of these sculpey ornaments now, but nothing to place atop the tree. Not to fear, Star Man is here! Place this geeky alternative to the Christmas star atop your tree, and try not to dig out your old Super Nintendo.

I truly hope that my meticulous information gathering assisted at least one of you. I'd love to see what sort of things you make, and if you have any additional ideas for geeky holiday crafts.
Happy holidays, and all that jazz.

Molly McIsaac lives primarily in her head, escaping every once in awhile to blink in the light of "real world" and insist that unicorns are real and that Boba Fett really does love her. You can follow her oddities here.